Shake Down Dead Read Online Free PDF Page B

Harold
wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
    ‘Then why did she leave that darn
tablecloth on the ground? And why did Harold say that she wouldn’t
wake up? Explain that.”
    “Well, now,” Trudy answered. “I don’t
know what happened. I guess maybe something might have happened to
Whitney. I just know that Harold didn’t have anything to do with
it. He may have smashed her windshield but he would never hurt her.
He has a huge crush on her, doncha know?”
    “I didn’t know. . .” I said.
    “Listen, Jennifer, I know you figured
out who killed Wes last summer. You’re good at finding things out.
Why don’t you check around and see what you can find out about
Whitney? You’ll feel a whole lot better when you know she’s
okay.”
    “I guess I could make a few phone
calls. Where does she hang out? Who are her friends?”
    “I don’t know, Jennifer.” Trudy threw
up her arms. “I don’t even like her that much. She’s very spoiled
and demanding, ya’ know.”
    “I’ve noticed. Okay, where does she
live?”
    While Trudy wrote down Whitney’s
address, I tried to figure out how I get caught up in these things.
I didn’t care for Whitney, and her haughty mother was a big pain.
However, I did want to know what happened to her, because things
just didn’t fit.

    A few minutes later, I pulled up in
front of the townhouse where Whitney and her mother lived. I hoped
that Mrs. Wentworth was sober today. After the condition he was in
when she was at Charlie’s rally a couple weeks ago, I suspected it
wasn’t a one-time thing. I took a deep breath and rang the
bell.
    “Come in,” a voice shouted from
inside.
    I turned the knob and opened the door a
crack. I stuck my head in and looked around. I saw Mrs. Wentworth
was sprawled across the couch, a large glass in her hand, filled
with what looked like lemonade. I knew better. Her flask was around
here somewhere.
    “Find a glass and have a little drink
with me, dear.”
    “Mrs. Wentworth, I’m looking for
Whitney,” I said.
    “My dear, I am drooling; you may call
me Henrietta.” Taking a gulp of her drink, she said, “I don’t know
where that spoiled daughter of mine is. She’s always leaving me
here alone. No gratitude.”
    “Darn! I was hoping she was here. Who
are her friends? Maybe they know where she’s at. I’m sort of
worried about her.”
    Henrietta suddenly sat up and set down
her glass. “Let me tell you about those little witches,” she began.
“Whitney’s been around that group all her life. They were best
friends all through junior high. In high school, they all made the
cheerleader squad. They used to love to come to the house and play
music and hang out. Now she and her friends leave me alone all the
time while they go out and have fun like nothing’s
changed.”
    “What about your friends, Henrietta?” I
asked.
    “They’re all too busy for me now. I
think they are embarrassed for me and just don’t know what to say
so they just stay away.”
    “Do you have family around here that
you can turn to?”
    “My family? I don’t want to be around
them. They’re white trash, mostly. I couldn’t wait to get away from
them. I turned my back on my drunken brother when I married Graham,
God rest his soul. And things were fine until Whitney was in high
school. Edwin decided that Whitney should be kind to my niece,
Pamela, and start taking her to some of the social
events.”
    She stopped to take a long drink and
catch her breath. I felt like I’d unleashed a magpie. I decided to
say nothing and just keep nodding. Maybe something she said would
be useful.
    “Graham wouldn’t leave it alone. He
even made Whitney give Pamela one of her beautiful prom gowns. The
one she wore the year before. Then he made Whitney take Pamela
along with her cheerleader friends to the prom! Can you imagine how
embarrassed Whitney and her friends were to bring Pamela along like
a lost kitten?”
    I just shook my head.
    “It’s a good thing my sister-in-law was
good